Growth and nutritional status of some broad leafspecies grown in forest nurseries

The aim of this study is to determine the nutritional activities carried out in Turkish Forest Nurseries and especially the nutritional status of some broad-leaf seedlings produced. For these purposes, a survey was conducted in 42 nurseries. In addition, morphological and physiological characteristics were determined in 11 species, including 8 bare-rooted, 2 containerized in polyethylene bags and 1 Enso-pot. Soil samples were taken from 17 nurseries and their physical and chemical analyzes were determined. According to the survey results, nurseries preferred AN fertilizer with the highest amount as nitrogenous fertilizers at 10-70 kg/da, and MAP fertilizer with 10-75 kg/da among compound fertilizers. Among organic fertilizers, sheep manure was the most preferred with 500-3000 kg/da. Majority of the nurseries (88%) determined the quality of their seedlings based on morphological characteristics. When the growth medium (nursery soils or potting mixture of the containerized seedlings) were examined, it was seen that the pH was in the range of 6.0-8.7 and the amount of organic matter is in the range of 0.06-0.33 mS/cm. In terms of the morphological characteristics of the seedlings, it was observed that black locust, eastern plane tree and 2 oak species had the highest values. Accordingly, in terms of nutrients taken up by 1000 saplings in a year, black locust was among the species that uptake the most nutrients with 209.68 g N and the eastern plane tree with 44.50 g P and 190.21 g K. Besides these two species, oaks also stand out for other elements. The fact that there is a 6-12 fold difference in the amount of nutrients taken up by different species indicates the importance of adjusting the fertilization regime in nurseries according to the growth and nutritional characteristics of the individual species. t.